Talib suspended for poking foe's eye

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers scrambles during the first half of Monday's game against the Bears. Chicago came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 22-19, handing San Diego its fifth consecutive defeat. Associated Press

Aqib Talib turned Denver's dominant defense into a Three Stooges routine, and now he'll sit out a game as a result.

The Pro Bowl cornerback and former Buc lost his cool and cost the Broncos a shot at staying unbeaten with two penalties in the closing minutes Sunday at Indianapolis.

One was a poke in the eye of an opponent — which cost him a one-game suspension Monday — and the other a clap in the face of an official during Denver's 27-24 loss at Indianapolis.

Two bad decisions by the man who was arguably the first-half MVP of the league's top defense.

The Colts had third and long from the Denver 15 with 2:24 left and Indy up by three points when Broncos linebacker Von Miller and Colts tight end Dwayne Allen started shouting and shoving. They went face to face when Talib ran up and poked Allen in his right eye with two fingers. Talib swore he meant to just shove Allen in the face instead.

The personal foul gave the Colts a first down and let Indy chew up the clock.

"You think I play football to poke people in the eye?," Talib said. "It was an honest mistake."

Unless the suspension is overturned on appeal, Talib — the No. 20 overall draft pick by the Bucs in 2008 who spent his first four-plus seasons with Tampa Bay — will miss Sunday's game against the Chiefs. He'll also be docked $323,529 out of his $5.5 million base salary.

"I sat with Aqib on the plane coming home (Sunday) night, had a long talk with him," coach Gary Kubiak said Monday. "He's wrong. He needs to stay out of the situation. It hurt the team."

Bears rally to win

SAN DIEGO — Zach Miller made a one-handed grab of a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler with 3:19 to go as the Bears beat the Chargers 22-19. Cutler's two TD passes broke the franchise record, giving him 139 with the Bears. He had been tied with Hall of Famer Sid Luckman. Cutler overcame an interception return for a touchdown and a fumble to throw for 345 yards.

Ryan's choice: Former Jets coach and current Bills coach Rex Ryan said he plans to make IK Enemkpali a co-captain for Thursday night's AFC East game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. Enemkpali is the former Jets linebacker who punched then-teammate Geno Smith and broke his jaw during a locker room altercation on Aug. 11. Now he will be front and center for the coin toss. "Yeah. I'll get ripped, whatever. I do this all the time," Ryan told Bills writers.

Fisher defensive: Rams coach Jeff Fisher defended himself against criticism after safety Lamarcus Joyner's low hit sidelined Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with a concussion. He chided Vikings coach Mike Zimmer for speaking out harshly. "I understand that, but you also need to control your emotions after a game and go look at the tape and then adjust accordingly," Fisher said. "Again, I don't know who they play this week. I don't care, but we've moved on. We're on to Chicago." Also, on the day the league suspended receiver Stedman Bailey four games for violating substance abuse policy, the Rams signed free agent Wes Welker.

Bridgewater passed his first post-concussion test and Zimmer said he believes the quarterback "will be good to go" for Sunday's game at Oakland after the hit from Joyner.

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